Living With Alzheimer's Disease

One in three seniors die of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia (Godman). Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia but all types of dementia diseases effect seniors and their families in a dramatic drastic way. Early signs of Alzheimer’s start as early as the age of 30 and can affect someone for the rest of their life. These diseases have become more reoccurring every year, effecting around 5.3 million Americans and will continue to change lives for the rest of time (Bender, 2). As of now, there has been no cure for Alzheimer’s but scientists and doctors are putting time and effort into an Alzheimer’s cure through research, trials and ways to prevent the disease.

Alzheimer 's disease is a highly progressive and irreversible brain disorder that impairs cognitive function and eventually annihilates brain cells. “It is characterized by the development of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the loss of connections between nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain, and the death of these nerve cells” (nia). There is currently no cure for this retrogressive cognitive disease. Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately “4.5 million people in the Unites States and 8 million people worldwide” (pathopta). Studies show that one in eight people over the age of 65 will suffer from Alzheimer’s. Physicians and researchers alike believe that there are numerous individuals with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s whom go undiagnosed and untreated. This neurological disorder is not a natural age-related response, and those whom present with any signs and symptoms should be seen by their physician promptly. Even though Alzheimer’s affects a massive number of the

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by gradual cognitive decline that beings with the inability to create recent memories or thoughts, which then proceeds to effect on all intellectual functions (Mayeux & Stern, 2012). AD affects an estimated 5.5 million people in the United States, and 24 million people worldwide (Mayeux & Stern, 2012). The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is rising in line with the aging population, therefore; AD is most common in older patients around the ages of 60-85 (Mayeux & Stern, 2012). Alzheimer’s Disease is the sixth most common cause of death ("Latest Alzheimer 's Facts and Figures", 2015). Therefore, in the United States, one individual will develop the disease in every 67 seconds ("Latest Alzheimer 's Facts and Figures", 2015).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most well-known type of dementia, and its prevalence continues to expand. In fact, by 2050 researcher suggests that the prevalence of AD will increase by 225 percent, thereby affecting roughly 13.8 million U.S citizen. In short, researchers and scientists have less than 34 years to slow, stop or end this destructive mental health disorder. The current state of Alzheimer's disease is equally disturbing when considering, “in the United States, one in nine people aged 65 and older has AD (two-thirds of whom are women), and one person develops AD every 67 seconds” (Cummings, Isaacson, Schmitt, & Velting, 2015, para. 3). There are two forms of AD known as sporadic and familial, the latter has a genetic factor; thus,

Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior (Internet). It is a degenerative disease affecting nerve cells of the frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebrum of the brain. The disease is the major cause of presenile dementia (i.e., the loss of mental faculties not associated with advanced age) and is thought to be the largest single cause of senile dementia as well (Britannica, 306). It causes the connections between cells to become ineffective and the cells themselves to shutdown and eventually die (Davies, 1). Alzheimer’s is a progressive, irreversible, fatal neurologic disorder that affects an estimated 4 million American adults. It is estimated by 2040,approximately 14 million Americans will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Approximately 9% of the population older than 55 years and 20% of those older than 85 years have Alzheimer’s Disease. The duration of AD averages 2 to 10 years but can be up to 20 years. By 1992, Alzheimer’s Disease was the fourth leading cause of death among adults (more than 100,000 American deaths per year). It is projected that the number of people with Alzheimer’s Disease will triple in the next 50 years. This epidemic of dementia is not confined to sex, race, social, or economic class. The public knows this disorder as “senility”, although the term Alzheimer’s is becoming more common (Rosdahl, 1356). According to a quote from

The alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging and only up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. This disease doesn’t have a cure, but there are treatments for symptoms available and research still continues to find the answer to cure this bad disease. Also, an interesting fact is that ninety percent of what we know about Alzheimer's has been discovered in the last 15 years. Lastly, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a cognitive neurodegerative disorder and one of the major forms of dementia; it represents 60-80% of the dementia patients (Barker et at., 2002). It is estimated by the end of 2015, 53 million people of America would be affected and this would almost double by 2025 and triple by 2050, hence making research momentous for the cure (Hebert et al., 2013).

However, today, recognition and discoveries have increased rapidly. The CDC defines Alzheimer’s disease as a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss possibly leading to loss of ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. With as many as five million Americans living with the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s gradually worsens over seven stages with increasing age and by age eighty-five the risk of obtaining it reaches almost fifty percent. No matter the age, Alzheimer’s is incurable, however, there are many protective factors and medical management that can benefit the quality of life for many people infected with Alzheimer’s. However, there are also many risk factors such as age and family history. Constantly getting lost, losing things, or taking longer to complete normal tasks may seem like normal parts of aging but doing these things under Alzheimer’s is

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most devastating diseases affecting approximately 5.3 million people in the U.S. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015; Caminiti, 2015; Hammer, 2016). It is not exclusively a disease of old age as over 200,000 are diagnosed under the age of 65. Other startling facts are that a majority of afflicted by Alzheimer’s are women and the rates of diagnosis are increasing substantially (Alzheimer’s association, 2015). Alzheimer’s is a complicated disease that robs a person of their memory and eventually their bodily functions, rendering the person unable to care for him or herself. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s is fatal with no cure or prevention known to this date. There has been a 71 percent increase in Alzheimer’s deaths compared to other major deadly diseases during the first 13 years of this century.

Dementia is a neurobiological cognitive disorder that primarily affects adults aged 65 and older (McInnis-Dittrich, 2013). There are currently 44.7 million people aged 65 or older as of 2013 across the United States. THe older adult population is expected to increase to 98 million by 2060 (U.S. Department of Health and Aging, 2014). The rapidly increasing aging population is largely due in part to advances in healthcare and technology, which have contributed to prolonged life. Unfortunately, due to the fact that individuals are living longer the prevalence of age-related illnesses, like dementia, are on the rise. Dementia currently affects five to ten percent of the older individuals with the prevalence of dementia doubling every five years

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder and the most common form of dementia characterized by memory loss and disorganized thinking, problem-solving or language. Generally, Dementia is a decline in thinking, reasoning and remembering and two common forms includes dementia-Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia in which both are irreversible. Also, 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases are mostly Alzheimer’s disease. People with Alzheimer’s disease may experience a gradual impairment of intellectual abilities that is severe enough to interfere with activities of daily living. In a research done by Chang and Silverman (2004), Alzheimer’s disease is becoming a leading public health concern especially in people over 65 years old years old. And in United States alone, it is estimated to affect 4 million individuals and more than 30 million worldwide. Unfortunately up until now, there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease; however, there are promising research underway that targets the treatment of the symptoms.

It is said that memory declines as people age, and this can be just a natural part of life. However, in many cases as people grow older, they develop a mental disorder known as Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes problems with memory, thinking, and overall behavior, and progressively becomes a bigger problem. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is a very common disease in people over the age of 65. This terminal disease puts tremendous stress on the victim and the victim’s family. A cure for Alzheimer’s has yet to be discovered; however, through healthy and constant use of the brain and the aid of certain drug treatments, Alzheimer’s disease can be both naturally and medically prevented.

An obstacle I have faced is helping with the care of my grandmother who had Alzheimer’s. It was a challenge for my family and me since the one that took care of us was now the one we had to take care of. She had Alzheimer’s for about three years. The first year we could see the signs starting to show more frequently and we had to help her with small things such as directions, driving her places instead of her driving herself, having to tell her who someone was, things like that. Then as year two came about six of the family members including myself had to alter our lifestyle to care for her. Each of us had a night or two we spent the night with her. We also had to start fixing her dinner, picking out her clothes, she would get up at two o’clock

“Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States”(“2015 Alzheimer’s…”). Today, more and more individuals are diagnosed with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. This disease is not curable and the symptoms get worse over a period of time. After a closer investigation on the causes, symptoms, effects, diagnosis, and treatments, one discovers the severity of this dreaded disease and how it is managed.

It is estimated that currently 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease. [1] 60-70% of dementia cases in the elderly are caused by Alzheimer’s. [2] As the population ages a greater percentage of Americans will be impacted whereas between present time and 2050 it is estimated that 20 percent of the population will be in an age category that puts them at risk. [1] The disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the neurons resulting in memory loss, language skills, thinking and behavioral changes. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this disease are changing due to knowledge that the underlying pathology begins 10-20 years before the symptoms appear. [3] Therefore new methods are